California Literary Review

Internet leak brings end to US cult book series: The US author of an internationally bestselling series of books about vampires, aimed at teenage girls, has announced that she is scrapping the final episode after an unfinished draft was leaked on the internet. [Guardian]

Canceled Muhammad novel finds new publisher: A historical novel about the prophet Muhammad and his child bride that was pulled by Random House over concerns it would anger Muslims will be printed by another German publisher, the author said in an interview released Wednesday. [Yahoo]

Can a publishing blockbuster like ‘Potter’ be planned?: On Tuesday, the U.S. publisher of Harry Potter will premiere a highly ambitious series with a mystery ending for readers and a couple of puzzlers for the industry: How big is the market for a multimedia story – and can a phenomenon be conceived by a publisher rather than created by the public? [Philadelphia Inquirer]

Solzhenitsyn the Stylist: Most of the recent tributes to Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn, who died earlier this month, have concentrated on his titanic struggle against the Soviet regime, and rightly so. But what seems to have gotten lost is the reason he was listened to in the first place — namely, his virtues as a writer. [NYT]

Anne Trubek on Why We Shouldn’t Still Be Learning Catcher in the Rye: Why is The Catcher in the Rye still a rite of high school English? Sure, J.D. Salinger’s novel was edgy and controversial when teachers first put it on their syllabi. But that was 50 years ago. Today, Salinger’s novel lacks the currency or shock value it once had, and has lost some of its critical cachet. But it is still ubiquitously taught even though many newer novels of adolescence are available. [Good]